California water board must protect wetlands

Americans care about clean water. Public opinion polls consistently show that protecting our water from contamination is a high priority. Yet water quality problems continue throughout California. For instance, we know that every year 1 million Californians receive drinking water in their homes that does not meet safe drinking water standards. So you’d expect federal leaders would listen to their constituents — and their consciences — and step up efforts to protect public health and the ecosystems that filter and protect our water supplies.

Unfortunately, the reverse is true; a major attack on clean water is in progress in Washington, D.C. Fortunately, Californians can do something about it.

The Trump administration is working diligently to strip Clean Water Act protections from critical water sources, including those protecting the drinking water for 1 in 5 California residents. In one of his earliest actions, President Trump in February signed an executive order beginning the process of reducing the waters protected by what is called the “waters of the U.S. rule.” Similar legislation is pending in Congress.

This proposed rollback targets, among other things, wetlands and streams that aren’t wet year-round. In California, which has a Mediterranean climate and receives little rainfall for half of the year, we have a great deal at stake.

Nearly 20,000 miles of streams and untold thousands of acres of wetlands could be stripped of federal protections if this Clean Water Act rollback succeeds. Federal law would no longer stop dischargers from dumping whatever they want in these streams and wetlands — and in our water supplies.

Stripping federal protections also would make it easier for wetlands to be filled for development — obliterated entirely. (California has already lost more than 90 percent of its historic wetlands.) This would threaten wetlands that purify our water and provide habitat for migratory birds and endangered species. It could allow the destruction of wetlands that reduce flood risk, by absorbing high flows during extreme storm events.

California has its own clean water law, which gives the State Water Resources Control Board the authority and responsibility to protect the waters of the state.

For more than a decade, the state water board has been developing a policy that would make it clear that California’s wetlands are protected under state law. Frankly, the board has made this a low priority. Why? Because it trusted federal agencies to protect water quality. It’s clear that, under the Trump administration and this Congress, California can no longer make that assumption.

California’s representatives should fight Clean Water Act rollbacks in Washington. But California can take action now to protect our wetlands, streams, drinking water and public health from these dangerous proposals.

The water board needs to act quickly to strengthen and finalize the draft wetlands policy it has been working on for years. The draft needs to be strengthened to state that developers who fill wetlands must replace at least as many acres as their project destroys. That’s critical to achieving the state’s no-net-wetlands-loss goal. In addition, the policy would benefit from a more rigorous analysis of alternatives, in order to avoid the unnecessary loss of wetlands. Developers shouldn’t be given permits to fill scarce wetlands if alternative sites are available.

This wetlands policy would give California a backstop to protect water quality in the event that Trump administration and congressional efforts to roll back protections under the Clean Water Act can’t be stopped.

Californians of every political stripe agree that our agencies must protect our drinking water and the aquatic ecosystems we draw that water from. This is the water our children drink.

When it comes to clean water, the message from Californians to the water board should be clear: Adopting a strong wetlands policy is essential to protecting public health and the environment.

Jennifer Clary is a legislative analyst for Clean Water Action, a nonprofit that works to protect drinking water and clean up polluted waterways.